


Basil's 17th

by RandomWritings23



Category: OMORI (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Mari is only mentioned as this is a post True End fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:33:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29550057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandomWritings23/pseuds/RandomWritings23
Summary: Major spoilers for the True Ending of OMORI.Basil gets to celebrate his birthday with his friends right by his side for the first time in 4 years. It’s strange and it’s definitely different than it used to be, but it was just as he expected.
Relationships: Aubrey & Basil & Hero & Kel & Sunny (OMORI)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 73





	Basil's 17th

**Author's Note:**

> I felt like writing something short to celebrate Basil’s birthday, since he’s my favorite character from OMORI! (Trust me, it’s not by very much. The main cast is so good in this game, it’s absurd.)
> 
> There's a few times where the year gap is referred to by 5 years instead of just 4, as Basil's 16th birthday is assumedly also spent without everyone there, making this the 5th year in a row. I dunno, time shenanigans.

Basil had been discharged from the hospital just months ago. The Summer had ended around the same time, which led Autumn to then sluggishly pass as he slowly recovered further from his injuries, after which the snowy Winter had come. Just like that, it was February again, seemingly in the blink of an eye, and right as he’d started to readjust to life. 

There were brief moments in his slog up to this point, though, in which he found that things finally felt normal again. Not all of them lasted very long, but they were very much welcome. They were the times when Hero would come and visit or pass on the street and say hello, or when Kel would knock on his door and ask if he’d eaten lunch yet, or when Aubrey’s friends would pass and finally not punch him anymore. 

Small moments like that dotted his days and weeks between time spent at home with Polly or therapy appointments that he’d arranged. After Sunny’s confession, the others, of course, needed time to take things in, and so... they’d left the room. He’d stuck behind and the two resolved that they’d need professional help to handle exactly what it was they were dealing with. 

They didn’t exactly get to the whole “manslaughter” part, but Sunny was able to get readjusted to life much more smoothly as a result of his efforts, and Basil had begun undertaking small projects, like continuing his scrapbooking and plant caretaking. 

Sunny had begun a daily journal at his therapist’s behest, according to one of his letters. 

The only reason that Basil knew all of this was because Sunny had kept in touch, just as promised. He might have been far, far away, but so long as he could communicate with them, then things were okay. (Plus, in actuality, he’d only actually moved a couple cities away.)

In the weeks leading up to his birthday, Basil wondered if the others remembered it was coming. It had been a long time, after all, there’s no way he could expect every last one of them to remember the exact date. It’d simply be unreasonable to - he hoped that at least Sunny would remember it, though. That might not really matter, though… if Sunny wouldn’t be there to celebrate it with them in the first place. 

He rolled out of bed, pushing that depressing thought out of his head. He looked to the calendar hanging just by his door - the date was on his mind, after all - and realized something he hadn’t anticipated, nor had he prepared for. His birthday was today. In the time spent watching the weeks melt away and blend together, it must have snuck up on him.

Today was either going to be very good, or very difficult to force himself through. That was fine, though, he told himself. He could just brace himself for the worst, and everything would be okay. He’d left the watering can nearly empty in his room last night, so he watered the plants he could with what was left as a way to ground himself in what was happening right now. He was in his room, it was morning, it was his birthday, and he would be okay.

He put the can back down and made a mental note to fill it up again later. He reached for the doorknob to leave the room, but found himself filled with a strange trepidation. 17. Five years now since the incident. Steeling himself with a deep breath, he opened the door. 

“Happy Birthday, Basil!” Polly greeted him with a smile as he left his room. He did his utmost to return her positive sentiment, replying with a nervous laugh and a, “Good morning, Polly.” 

“I feel like I should let you know in advance, so it’s not too overwhelming… I had a couple people help me decorate the house last night, so if it looks like I did a little too much, that’s why.” Polly paused occasionally between her words, as if she was dancing around a particular subject. 

“You really did all that just for today? Who helped out?” Basil rubbed sleep from his eyes and composed himself. 

“Oh, just some folks from around town who cared enough to chip in, is all.” Polly’s grin could only be described as ‘shit-eating.’ That was very unlike her, wasn’t it? What a weird start to the day. “Well, I’ll be putting some finishing touches up around here, so feel free to do whatever you like today, Basil.” She headed off, disappearing into the living room. “I made some plans for us this afternoon, so try to be home by then, okay?” She called, finishing her morning announcements. 

So, he had an hour or so free. He could go find his old friends, go to their old hangout spot again… or, there was someone else he could visit, who wouldn’t get to see him today unless he reached out himself. Despite the sick feeling welling up inside him, he knew that it was the right thing to do… he’d force himself to whether he wanted to or not. 

He made his way down the street, past the houses of Aubrey’s friends, through the church, and into the graveyard. ‘Just… just a short visit,’ he thought to himself, before making his way to her grave. ‘It’s what she’d want, and it’d be unfair to leave her out of the first party like this in four or five years.’

He knelt by her grave and prepared to tell the story of all that had happened in the past months. 

_**R.I.P MARI - THE SUN SHINED BRIGHTER WHEN SHE WAS HERE.** _

He had come to terms with what he - they? - had done, but the consequences of those actions would never go away. A wonderful friend lost, permanently, as the result of a little impulse. 

He told her everything. Stories flowed from deep within, about his malice for Aubrey that he no longer held, about Sunny, about Hero becoming a doctor and saving his and Sunny’s lives, about everything. He hadn’t even realized that all the free time he had before Polly’s gathering already passed, just like that. He was lost in himself, hoping beyond hope that somewhere, somehow, Mari was listening, and caring, just like she always used to.

Would she be proud of him? Of Sunny? Maybe in some regards, but definitely not in others. That’s okay, though. As hard as she tried to be perfect, nobody is, and especially not the people who killed her. At least Hero, Kel, and Aubrey, though… At least they deserved that kindness. 

It would be horribly impolite to be late to his own birthday party, so he remorsefully left the graveyard and made his way back home. Snow crunched underfoot as he noted that his footprints weren’t the only ones in the snow leading up to his home - there were various others, all of varying sizes and imprint patterns. 

So… they hadn’t forgotten, after all. The only other people that could have done something like that would have been Aubrey’s gang, and they wouldn’t come looking for him like that, not at his own house. Hero, Kel, Aubrey… either they’d visited earlier and left, or they were inside now. Was he really ready to face them all at once again? After the incident at the hospital, after the fight with Sunny, and after he…

M-Maybe not… He'd already begun to have second thoughts about all this. Maybe he should just relax alone this year and focus on himself for the day… but he might already not have a choice in the matter, judging by the look of things. For the second time today, he shoved down his thoughts with a deep breath, this time filling his lungs with an icy chill. He gently pushed open the door and took a hesitant step inside.

The first person he saw when he stepped inside was Hero. He lit up in the same way he did when he pulled Sunny and Basil from the lake, with an expression that just screamed ‘I’ve been waiting all day for this.’ He looked… genuinely overjoyed to see his friend again, and not like he’d just seen what he actually had - the person who ruined his life, alive and well. The same could be said for Kel, who quickly joined his brother in greeting Basil, a wide grin plastered on his face the whole time. Even Aubrey, who was distracted and in the middle of a conversation with Polly, looked like she was in a mood other than ‘I’d rather be anywhere else,’ which was a solid one-up on the times he’d seen her before then. 

“Oh, Basil, you’re back!” Polly turned to him, finally noticing that Hero and Kel and rushed to his side. “Just in time! Your friends arrived just a few minutes ago.” She smiled, watching as Aubrey walked over to their side of the room and turned to face her. “Thank you, Hero. I don’t think I’d have been able to get the cake in the oven in time if it hadn’t been for your help.”

“Oh, it was nothing, Polly! I’m just glad I was able to help out.” Hero was using his trademark charm again. “Next time, try to remember to crack the eggs into a separate bowl first, then pour the yolks into the rest of the ingredients. It makes it easier to separate the yolk from the shell.” 

“I would have, but I used the rest of the bowls to make last night’s dinner, and I hadn’t washed them yet…” Polly gave a defeated smile to the group. “I’m sure it’ll turn out wonderfully, if there’s shell in it or not.” 

“So… were you guys the ones who helped put up all the decorations yesterday? I haven’t had a chance to take a close look at them yet, because I kind of rushed out earlier… haha.” Basil laughed nervously, addressing his friends, who surrounded him in every direction but the one he’d come in from. He trusted them, sure, but this was kind of… ominous.

“Oh, yeah! We had to be really quiet to make sure we didn’t end up spoiling the surprise.” Kel seemed to notice that they were suffocating Basil, so he took a step back. “I know things might be kinda awkward for a lot of different reasons, but Hero made a promise, so we all have to work together to fulfill it, right? We gotta stick together!”

“Alright, saplords. Check this out, the biggest surprise of the day just pulled up.” Aubrey was looking out the window, staring at a white car in Basil’s driveway. “You guys know what this means.”

Basil’s eyes shot open. “Wait… did you guys invite Sunny too, or did he just… show up?” 

“Does that really change anything? He’s here now. I mean, we can shoo him away if you want.” Aubrey grinned down at him. 

“N-No, that’s not what I meant! I just… didn’t expect it, is all.” 

“You guys know what that means… we get to celebrate together again, just like old times!” Kel and Aubrey quickly found themselves in a shoulder-checking match to watch Sunny walk up to the front door. 

Basil couldn’t predict how the rest of the day would go, or how Sunny would even react to seeing everyone together again, but he knew for a fact that today was going to be a very fun challenge. A challenge not only for him, but for everyone. An exercise in trust between friends, and a chance to prove that they were stronger than the demons that haunted them all for those long, long four years. 

He knew they could do it. He was more than happy to finally move on, right by the sides of the people he loved most, no matter what difficulties faced them. 

Hero’s promise… was one they would all work to fulfill. Together. 

**Author's Note:**

> I also wanted to add a scene sort of reminiscent of one of the “UwU” scenes from the original game with the real-world characters while they waited for Sunny to arrive, but I ran out of time :P I really do love this game with all my heart, so I hope I did it justice.


End file.
